Mother of Four Found Dead in Tesla, Partner Charged

By Jordan Reyes. Sep 8, 2026

Four Children Were Inside the Home

Silvia Bahena’s four children were inside her Tooele, Utah, home when police say an argument ended with a pickup crashing into her Tesla in the garage and Bahena being killed. Daniel Castro Ruesga, 37, was charged Sept. 2 with murder and related offenses, according to court records reported by KSL.

Tooele police were called to the home near Kings Landing Road just before midnight on Aug. 31 after a report of shots fired. Officers found a pickup against the rear of a white Tesla in the garage and Bahena, 37, dead in the driver’s seat, KSL reported.

Bahena was a mother of four who had built a business doing nails and had recently begun working as a mortgage loan officer. Friends described her to KSL as hardworking, kind and deeply devoted to her children.

Police Said the Vehicles Became Part of the Case

According to the probable cause statement, Ruesga told investigators after receiving a Miranda warning that he intentionally crashed his pickup into Bahena’s car following an argument. Prosecutors allege that the confrontation then became fatal.

The vehicle detail gives investigators a physical sequence to examine, but the criminal filing remains an accusation. Ruesga has not been convicted of Bahena’s death.

KSL reported that prosecutors filed one count of murder, along with a firearm-related felony, domestic-violence-in-the-presence-of-a-child counts and a weapons-discharge charge. The precise number and wording of related charges have varied between the initial booking report and the later court filing, so the murder charge is the central legal development.

Friends Remembered Bahena as a Mother and Professional

Friends told KSL that Bahena was well known through her beauty work and had recently added mortgage lending to her career. One friend said Bahena’s children were the center of her life.

The children were inside the home during the incident, according to Tooele police. KSL reported that they heard what happened and later found their mother.

Their names have not been published in the reporting used for this article, and they are not accused of any wrongdoing. The case leaves them at the center of a loss that began inside their own home.

The Case Moves Into Court

Court records cited by KSL also show that Ruesga had a prior misdemeanor property-damage case with a domestic-violence enhancement in 2025. The reporting does not establish that Bahena was the victim in that earlier case, and that should not be assumed.

The current murder prosecution is based on the Aug. 31 death and the evidence described in the new charging documents. Prosecutors will have to prove the allegations in court, and Ruesga is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless convicted.

Friends Are Supporting Her Four Children

KSL reported that Bahena had spent years building relationships through her nail work in Tooele. One friend first met her as a client and continued seeing her after Bahena closed her salon, while another worked with her as she pursued a mortgage-loan career.

Friends described Bahena and Ruesga’s relationship as on and off. Their comments provide background, but they do not establish a motive for the killing, and prosecutors will have to prove the charged conduct through admissible evidence.

After Bahena’s death, friends in Tooele began raising money to support her four children. The fundraising effort is not part of the criminal case, but it reflects the practical impact of the loss on the children police say were inside the home that night.

For Bahena’s family, the legal case follows a much more immediate reality: four children lost their mother in the place where they were supposed to be safe.

References: Tooele real estate agent charged with murdering girlfriend; friends say she was an ‘amazing mom’ | Tooele neighborhood stunned after mother fatally shot in garage; children were inside home